TASTE OF FORT PIERCE
know they are getting something fresh, not out of a box or
from a truck.
“That makes a big difference. You can’t serve somebody
old food. They want it to stay hot,” she says. “There is
something about the texture ― light and fluffy.”
Dixie Cream also manages to compete with the larger
Dunkin’ Donuts chain by charging about $2 less per dozen,
though single prices are about the same, Callis says.
Dixie Cream’s local involvement also attracts business,
she says. The company helps with school sponsorships and
donations to local groups.
The Port St. Lucie hours are from 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Fort Pierce store is open from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. In the
early days of Dixie Cream on Orange Avenue, doughnuts
were served until they ran out and the shop closed up,
Callis says.
To keep things in order and ready made, Callis, the
mother of four children, begins work at 2 a.m., long before
the store opens. She remembers coming in at midnight
when she first started out. Callis usually works on the hot
glazed doughnuts first thing in the morning. Her husband
Jonathon is a baker at the Fort Pierce shop.
The new restaurant in Port St. Lucie gets some of its biggest
28
orders from nearby organizations and workplaces. A
When you see people
every day, you know they
love it. ‘‘ ‘‘ — Sarah Callis
hospital will order 150 dozen doughnuts, and churches will
ask for 40 or 50 dozen at a time.
Callis says it’s the regular customers who determine a
store’s success. “When you see people every day, you know
they love it,” she says. Lines often stretch outside of the new bakery in Port St. Lucie.
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